He was here everyday at the same time. Just waiting. No one knew what for, but there he sat for an hour everyday anticipating something that never came. Day after day, for years. And still nothing ever came. But he kept coming and sitting and waiting. Then one day there was someone else waiting there too. Seemingly not for the same thing, but just waiting for something. And that person asked the question everyone else always wondered.
"What are you waiting for?" That was the question, something to make conversation while they both sat and waited. He turned toward her and she noticed the sad smile on his face before he said, "I'm not sure, but I'm going to be here when it happens." Then he turned back around and said nothing else. The girl's friend arrived and she left, but only after saying goodbye to the man.
And he continued to wait. He became a staple at the station. Everyone who worked there knew who he was. He was the man who was waiting... for something. But no one knew what that something was except for him. But he was sat there every day on the same bench all day. Just waiting.
No one at the station knew what to do about him. He never bothered anyone, so they decided to just let him sit and wait. He would talk to them when business was slow at the station and tell them all about when he was young and how the world had changed. And then one day he didn't show up. And he was missed. But the workers assumed it was a fluke, that he was sick and would be there the next day but when he wasn't there after a week they began to worry.
A few more weeks passed and there was still no sign of the man until one day when someone who looked familiar walked in and went up to the counter. He was the old man's son and he'd been sent to tell the workers that his father was in the hospital and wouldn't be able to come back to the station. But he would. He came every day, just like his father and then one day what he was waiting for came.
No one noticed at first. The small box that came on the mail train addressed to the man. But it was found and given to his son who left with it straight away.
The workers waited for him to return once again. And they waited and they waited. It was over a month before the man returned. He hadn't planned on ever coming back if he were honest. But his father had told him to. He wanted to make sure that his friends knew why he had been there in the first place. Even if they didn't understand.
A picture. That was what had come on the mail train. Of a couple. The man in uniform and the woman in a gorgeous dress. The way they looked at each other said it all. They were in love, happily in love. And it was all that he had left to remember her by. And some days he could remember every detail about her and then there were other days where he couldn't even remember her name, but he knew that she was the love of his life. He never forgot that.
That day the was the last day that they ever saw the man or his son ever again. And every time the mail truck came in they would think of the old man who would sit and wait for it every day and wonder about him. They never found out what happened to him, but they knew that wherever he was he was happy. Because he was finally with the woman he loved and he wouldn't forget anything about her ever again.
"What are you waiting for?" That was the question, something to make conversation while they both sat and waited. He turned toward her and she noticed the sad smile on his face before he said, "I'm not sure, but I'm going to be here when it happens." Then he turned back around and said nothing else. The girl's friend arrived and she left, but only after saying goodbye to the man.
And he continued to wait. He became a staple at the station. Everyone who worked there knew who he was. He was the man who was waiting... for something. But no one knew what that something was except for him. But he was sat there every day on the same bench all day. Just waiting.
No one at the station knew what to do about him. He never bothered anyone, so they decided to just let him sit and wait. He would talk to them when business was slow at the station and tell them all about when he was young and how the world had changed. And then one day he didn't show up. And he was missed. But the workers assumed it was a fluke, that he was sick and would be there the next day but when he wasn't there after a week they began to worry.
A few more weeks passed and there was still no sign of the man until one day when someone who looked familiar walked in and went up to the counter. He was the old man's son and he'd been sent to tell the workers that his father was in the hospital and wouldn't be able to come back to the station. But he would. He came every day, just like his father and then one day what he was waiting for came.
No one noticed at first. The small box that came on the mail train addressed to the man. But it was found and given to his son who left with it straight away.
The workers waited for him to return once again. And they waited and they waited. It was over a month before the man returned. He hadn't planned on ever coming back if he were honest. But his father had told him to. He wanted to make sure that his friends knew why he had been there in the first place. Even if they didn't understand.
A picture. That was what had come on the mail train. Of a couple. The man in uniform and the woman in a gorgeous dress. The way they looked at each other said it all. They were in love, happily in love. And it was all that he had left to remember her by. And some days he could remember every detail about her and then there were other days where he couldn't even remember her name, but he knew that she was the love of his life. He never forgot that.
That day the was the last day that they ever saw the man or his son ever again. And every time the mail truck came in they would think of the old man who would sit and wait for it every day and wonder about him. They never found out what happened to him, but they knew that wherever he was he was happy. Because he was finally with the woman he loved and he wouldn't forget anything about her ever again.
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